Paul Martin to Promote Business Program at Halifax Aboriginal Education Conference

Canada’s former Prime Minister Paul Martin is scheduled to speak at an Aboriginal education conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia on November 16. The event, A New Partnership: Building Relationships Through Education, will be organized by Engage Nova Scotia and Treaty Education Nova Scotia—a partnership between Mi’kmaq chiefs and the provincial government, which aims to teach both aboriginal and non-aboriginal students about Nova Scotia’s treaty relationship.

During his keynote speech, Paul Martin will be promoting a business program that teaches students the fundamentals of marketing and financial literacy in their own language. This particular program will soon become a part of the curriculum at Allison Bernard Memorial High School in Eskasoni, Nova Scotia.

After he left office, Paul Martin founded the Martin Aboriginal Education Initiative, and the Aboriginal Youth Entrepreneurship Program is an important part of this initiative. The program is about closing the gap between on-reserve and provincial public schools.

Reserve schools are funded between 30 and 50 per cent less by their provinces than any other schools. Martin says: “What’s been lacking is decent funding from the federal government.”